State Government Category Posts

To Improve Workforce and Serve Equity, Minnesota Must Reform "Collateral Consequences of Conviction"
You have served your time. You paid your debt. You think you are free. You want to get a job, a student loan, a license, a place to live, but you cannot. You are not free; you are trapped by your past, just as the heroic Jean Valjean was in Les Misérables.
Your past conviction for a felony, and sometimes for a g... Read More

Justin Stofferahn is a policy specialist for the State of Minnesota and is a new Policy Fellow for Growth & Justice. His work focuses on fiscal and economic issues. He also has policy experience from his work in the offices of the Illinois Governor and Lt. Governor.
Economic Concentration in Minnesota
The biggest story in economic development right now is the bid to secure Amazon’s second headquarters and the estimat... Read More

Brendan Klein is a Growth & Justice Intern and Jackson Fellow at the College of St. Benedicts and St. John’s University
Many federal programs, from Social Security to Medicare to the National Park System, have improved and enriched our lives and are seen as great American achievements. Others have failed or been discontinued for various reasons, but few defunct programs are remembered as fondly as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)... Read More

Note: Paul Epland is a summer intern and research assistant from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. Paul hails from Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota. His interests include journalism, state and local politics, comparative literature, and wild (some would say dangerous) speculation regarding Game of Thrones. Paul's internship is funded by a grant from Paul and Rhonda Redleaf of the Redleaf Foundation.
“P... Read More

Note from G&J: Guest Blogger John James is a former commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Revenue and one of our state's more knowledgeable tax experts. G&J does not necessarily support all of the tax policy proposals advanced here, but we think it's an insightful analysis and a plausible argument.
Widespread recognition that Minnesota needs transportation infrastructure investment guarantees another legislative effort t... Read More